Monday, May 18, 2015

Research is not always glamorous. This is a fact I learned
recently when Talek Camp needed to send in their U.S. supplies requests. Cue
storage tent inventory time.

You would not believe the number of things we need to run this research camp on a daily basis!
And many of these things reside in the storage tent.

Wilson stands proud and tall among our research material.

After emptying the entire tent and cataloging all the
various items, we discovered an additional problem. Ant infestation. So, armed
with cans of red (danger-color) DOOM (probably the equivalent to: “Spray that
kills bugs and gives me cancer in 10 years”), we committed ant genocide.

Ashlei begins the killing process.

What have I done with these hands....

Doom-ed ants

But at least, the terrible parts of this job (the storage
tent) are coupled with the amazing parts of this job (hyenas.)

For example:

The other day on obs, Ashlei and I were driving along
Horseshoe Lugga when we happened upon a group of excited hyenas. Tails
bristling, noses thrust against grass stalks, and the smell of paste in the air
were all signs that indicated a border patrol was about to take place. I leaned
forward in the driver’s seat, binoculars glued to my eyes as Ashlei took a deep
swig of air before the tirade of observation notes began to flow from her
mouth.

The beginning of a border patrol

Smell something good?

Parcheesi and Ted using their noses

So the sniffing and pasting began.

Everyone else follows Ted and Parcheesi's lead

Hyenas typically begin to produce paste around 3 years of age,
when they sexually mature, though some can produce some at earlier times (Theis et al 2008). This is also around the time when they begin to participate in
territorial defense, like border patrols and clan wars. As you can see from
these pictures, Trunks is a juvenile (as she doesn’t know what the heck is
going on) and she’s a little over two years old. She seems to be trying to
participate in the border patrol, but without much success.

Trunks looking clueless

Trunks finally trying to participate, although not effectively

This sort of olfactory communication can create cohesive
bonds between adult female hyenas (Smith and Holekamp 2010). And it can also be
effective in establishing territorial borders between clans (Smith and Holekamp
2010). Thus a border patrol is a perfect time for female bonding as well as
getting business done (protecting the territory.)

More sniffing...

However, interestingly enough, female participation in
border patrols seems to actually correspond more with protecting their
potential food sources rather than direct offspring protection from infanticide
by other clans or alien hyenas (Boydston et al 2001).

Parcheesi takes a short breather from her territory marking

In conclusion, these shenanigans were quite fun to watch. By
the end of their crazed sniffing and wandering, I believe the hyenas were quite
exhausted (as were we, so much data!) but we all left satisfied. For us, we
watched some incredible interactions and ridiculousness displayed by an excited
group of hyenas. For them, they sniffed a billion grass stalks and marked their
territory. All in a days work!

Help Support the Research

You can help support our research by making a donation to the Hyena Research Fund at MSU. Your contributions provide necessary resources for the students and scientists to continue our work. Use the link below to make a donation or contact MSU for additional details.